Santa Cruz

Back on the coast we got a camp site (for $35. seriously. to put a tent in the ground. hlysht) and immediately headed to the beach. We wound up in Natural Bridges State Park, on the north side of Santa Cruz. Despite the cool breeze, Adam insisted we jump in the frigid ocean waters because this may be our best and last chance on this trip. And, well, I had promised I'd swim with him once.

The beach was packed full of people, but it was mostly only small children in the water. And there was still only a handfull wading near the shore. I felt a nagging suspicion that all the land-dwellers knew something that we didn't.

What they knew was that the water was damn cold. Damn cold and salty. And those waves were brutal. I stuck it out for maybe 15 minutes before literally being pounded by a wave into the sands on the floor of the ocean. 

Exhausting, but invigorating we walked the shore in the bright sunlight. 

The reason we stayed in Santa Cruz in the first place was because I had seen months ago on GoogleEarth an icon for the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Doing some further googling I learned that there was a Ferris Wheel and a Roller Coaster. I mostly wanted to go to Santa Cruz because I wanted to ride a wooden rollercoaster on a wooden pier alongside the ocean. I thought it would feel a little like time-traveling. 

After roasting some brats and s'mores over a fire at our site at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, we headed back towards the ocean and the Boardwalk.

Excited upon arrival, disappointment quickly settled in. The boardwalk was no longer made of boards, but rather of concrete. The arcade had just been remodeled with Dance Dance Revolutions and a new mini-golf course.  As daylight waned, so too did the rides. We quickly discovered that we had gotten to the park just in time to see everything close. No wooden roller coaster for me D=

But it wasn't all bad. We got to play a couple of games of air hockey, and smell the sweet smell of the ocean tossed with funnel cakes and corn dogs. And although the rides were shutting down for the evening, the lights on the coasters guided us while we walked the quieting boardwalk.